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flash point

or flash·point

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noun
  1. Also flashing point. Physical Chemistry. the lowest temperature at which a liquid in a specified apparatus will give off sufficient vapor to ignite momentarily on application of a flame.
  2. a critical point or stage at which something or someone suddenly causes or creates some significant action: A 10 percent drop in mortgage rates will produce a flash point in the housing market.
  3. a critical situation or area having the potential of erupting in sudden violence: The Mideast has been the flash point for a series of conflicts.
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Origin of flash point

First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flash point

crisis

Examples from the Web for flash point

Historical Examples of flash point

  • They reached the flash-point of action at almost an identical moment.

    The Life of Florence Nightingale vol. 1 of 2

    Edward Tyas Cook

  • It is Spirit, the flash-point of the soul, which receives and transmits and which lives this living.

    The Prodigal Returns

    Lilian Staveley

British Dictionary definitions for flash point

flash point

flashing point

noun
  1. the lowest temperature at which the vapour above a liquid can be ignited in air
  2. a critical moment beyond which a situation will inevitably erupt into violencethe political mood has reached flash point
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
flash point in Science

flash point

  1. The lowest temperature at which the vapor of a flammable liquid will ignite in air. The flash point is generally lower than the temperature needed for the liquid itself to ignite.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
flash point in Culture

flash point

For a given flammable substance, the lowest temperature at which vapors passing from the substance into the air will catch fire spontaneously if a small flame is present.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.